New to MFT(Senegal Bicher)

[engraver30]

I am new to MFT and thought I would introduce myself and my favorite fish.

I saw a Senegal Bicher(dinosaur eel) at pets mart and I told my wife it was cool. A couple of weeks later, she and my kids surprised me and bought one for me along with all the fixins for a 10 gallon tank. I have not had a tank for many years and was happy with the surprise. I did not know much about them when I got them so I did some research on them. I found some good info about them but I was surprised when he was extremely active during the day. I read that they were nocturnal and did not come out much during the day. He never stops hunting for food day or night.
I was concerned about what fish to put in with him. A couple of local pet stores told me if I put fish that were larger than his mouth that he would not bother them. This has been true until today. Two weeks ago, my kids went with me to get some feeders for him and they fell in love with a albino frog. He was much bigger than my eel’s mouth so I thought he was safe. Well he decided that he was really hungry today. I came home and he had the frog half way in his mouth. It took him the better part of a day, but he swallowed him whole. When I got him a few months back he was only a couple of inches long and no wider than a pencil. I am amazed how quickly he has grown. He is already 8 inches long and as wide if not wider than my thumb. Since then we have bought and moved everyone into a 29 gallon tank.
My family has become really attached to him. Everyone thinks he is cool to watch. He seems to get along with all of the other fish, but hopefully he does not get to hungry again.

 

[ram man]

please, and i stress please do some research, those fish are going to die, im surprised the discus are alive from what i was told birchirs need 55 gallon and up tanks alone, discus need clean water im surprised the gouramis are not killing each other

 

[Igor The Cat]

Alright....wow....this is a big one....

no i can almost excuse you for what you did because your so new...almost but not quite.

you sig. makes me cringe, your 29gal is fully stocked after only your first two fish, and discus are no beginner fish and sadly you have mostlikely stunted them. you bichir needs a tank at least a 75gal tank to himself except for mabye a large cichlid and the like. your african butterfly fish needs a long tank (preferably 48" or longer) and they dont do well in a heavily stocked tank, the previous being from personal experiance. your knife fish needs atleast a GIANT tank as they can grow to be some 22" or so and need a tank verylarge tank such as a 75gal. your gouramis are alright in that size a tank, but your Pim. Cat needs a large tank like a 55gal or the like, and when they get fully grown are very much preditory and will eat any fish he can. your chinese algae eater (CAE) will outgrow your tank and become very agressive and stop eating algae instead replacing it with the slime coats of your fish. but your angel is okay.

in your ten your gupps are okay, but i have no idea what your "rosies" are...scientific name please. your fiddler is a brackish/SW animal NOT FW! the also should have atleast a 2gal tank with the ability to get on land at anytime. and i also dont know what you mean by a red crab.. possibly Perisesarma bidens ? if so they also need acess to land and will eat small fish.

cheers

-Java

 

[straitjacket]

There's really no need to be rude. It doesn't matter a person's experience level or whatever, you just don't talk to them like their idiots or that they should know better when they might not.

engraver, based on the reactions you've recieve from your tank you might be well aware now that the mix in your 29 gallon will untimately not last.
Though I must admit you've gotten quite lucky over the fact that all the fish listed are quite compatible in regards to water quality, some of them will eventually need more space than the others.
Minimum tank size for each fish is as follows:
Discus - 29gal (for a single breeding only pair, for a non-breeding pair a bigger tank and more discus is recommended)
African butterfly, Pantodon bucholzi - 40gal
African knife, Xenomystus nigri - 55gal (These only get to about 12" max, unlike it's giant asian counterpart the "Clown Knife")
Senegal Bichir, Polypterus senegalus - 40gal (for one), 55+ for two or more
Dwarf gourami, Colisa lalia - 15gal (20+ for 2 or more)
Gold gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus - 30gal
CAE - 40gal
The name "Pimellodalla angelicus" is an invalid name and junior synonym for Pimelodus pictus - 55gal, preferably in groups, in bigger tanks.
Angelfish - 20gal

Ultimately some of these fish may not grow large enough to keep from being eaten if kept together.
Chinese Algae Eaters, as mentioned, are notorious for attaching themselves to flatbodied fish like discus and angels and sucking the slime coat from them and even chewing through the scales and into the flesh. They're also quite territorial, as juveniles may work nicely on algaes but as they grow prefer more meatier diets.
The dwarf gouramis will not grow bigger than 3" and may evetually get eaten by the knife or senegal.
Some fish would have to be rearranged or left out of the community but if you wanted to keep the majority of them together you could keep the discus, angel, senegal, knife, pictus, butterfly fish, and gold gourami in a 75 gallon aquarium (minimum) with optimum filtration. The 29 can the be used as a quarantine tank for sick or baby fish or home for the dwarf gouramis and several other small community fish.
Discus have reputation for being very sensitive to nitrates and do not tolerate slacking of any kind on water upkeep. In my opinion this does not mean you have to change half the tank's water every day or every other day like some may lead you to believe. They do very well given that they're kept in tanks stocked lightly enough or filtrated properly enough to make do with weekly water changes. So long as your nitrates are kept below 10ppm (preferably) are are fed properly they should flourish.

We all started in the hobby somewhere, things change over the years as well. I think somethimes we forget that.

 

[engraver30]

Thank you straightjacket, I am not an idiot. Had I not got your response, I was planning on never returning to this site. People should get the facts before they make judgements. I have done research on all of the fish in my tank. I am aware that some of them do not belong together but there are reasons for this. I inhearted several of these fish when I was given this tank and right now they are all small enough to stay together for a few months while I am building them a new one. I work with acrylic and a variety of other materials and I am making at least a 100 gallon tank for the larger fish. I do water changes in my 29 gallon tank at least once a week to keep it clean and as for the 10 gallon tank, I said it was for my FEEDER fish. I have guppies and small fish that my local pet store calls roseys that I buy 100 at a time for my eel to and knife fish to eat. I keep the crabs in the tank to eat the dead feeders. And the crabs do have a platform so they can climb out of the water.
I was really shocked and upset by the first two responses. I am just glad that someone was nice to me

 

[Igor The Cat]

I shall let ram speak for himself but i made absolutly no judgements about you i simply stated that your are in a very bad position and are completely overstocked. you assumed that is was making a negative judgement about you for what ever your reasons. but i believe in research FIRST not 2nd and aquariums are a large responsibility as are anyother pet. but i think about the fish first and foremost and i almost didnt even post in this thread until i was talking to some very experianced fish keepers and they reassurred my suspisions. as i said i am trying to help the fish, the people are second. if all i did was get you angry and made you leave this forum forever i really dont care beacuse the fish are more important to me and by posting anything possibly helpful i know that i at least made an attempt to help your fish

-Java

 

[tubbs24]

I work with acrylic and a variety of other materials and I am making at least a 100 gallon tank for the larger fish.

LUUCCKKKYYYY !!!!! I would love your job!! I would try and make the sweetest tanks in the world.

Anyways, people can be rude at times. I don't believe that you are an idiot, either. I understand the pickle you are in, and the steps you are taking in order to keep these fish somewhat comfortable.
Now, when you do get your 100 gallon completed, you do need to keep in mind that it needs to be cycled, and not just putting in the discus right away. A fishless cycle is always the best, and pretty much faster than any other way. Also to speed up the process is to put an old filter cartridge (still wet) into the tank to "seed" it with bacteria while cycling. Good luck with setting up the new tank!
And also, nice idea with the platform for the crabs *thumbsups Maybe later on you could get a pic of this tank?? it sounds pretty cool

Welcome to the tank

 

[beblondie]

roseys/ tuffies are the albino form of fathead minnows as for the frog I'm guessing its was an african dwarf frog a natural part of a bichirs diet.Good luck with the tank -Anne